Favorite Routes | The Wandering Nomads

One of the most beautiful passes in the world between Kashmir Valley and Ladkh.

After leaving Jammu, the capital of Kashmir valley which is the Muslim majority disputed territory that borders Pakistan in north-western India, we headed up and into the Himalayas along a mostly paved road which took us over a beautiful pass before landing us in the not-so-pleasant town of Kargil. From there we took the turn off south which leads to Zanskar valley. Though we weren’t able to make it all the way down to Zanskar valley due to the snow (late May), we really enjoyed cycling there and back through this very beautiful region (Suru Valley) and would highly suggest it to others who come this way.

Camping on the Oregon Coast.

I started my tour in July 2013 by cycling down the Pacific West Coast as a warm up; a warm up which turned into an amazing five weeks as the cycling was easy, the hiker/biker campsites were a great way to meet other cyclists, and the scenery was beautiful. Though I had never toured, knew absolutely nothing about bikes and hadn’t trained at all for this trip, this didn’t seem to matter as I was able to start out slowly (doing fifty or so kilometers a day) before increasing my mileage when it felt right. Within a few weeks I was cycling 80-120km/day, and loving every minute of it. Along this route I stayed with various hospitable families who renewed my faith in humanity, was encouraged along by passing cars, swam in rivers amongst the gigantic redwoods, and fell asleep beside the beach listening to the crashing waves. I also met dozens of other cyclists, from students to retirees, doing this same route which made nights around the campfire a whole lot of fun.